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Our Hero Academia: Chapter 34
Stalemate Zenji walked into the arena, a smile etched across his face. He attributed part of being able to make it this far to who he had been up against in his previous rounds, but he was no less proud of himself. He had made it to the semi-finals of the Sports Festival, the Top 4. Already an improvement in comparison to last year, but he wanted to go even further. There was just one more obstacle on his way to the finals: Midori Crane. And if Zenji was remembering correctly, no one had gotten a clean hit on Midori the entire length of the tournament. Just walking towards him, Midori had that blank look she was known for by her classmates. Her hands tucked into her pockets on the sides, she was giving an aggressive look behind that blank fave. She had expected to be thrown out the first round, but getting this far would only make her feel guilty if she lost now. Besides, she needed to show Aiko that she can stand a fight without her there by her side. “So who are you again?” She said as the two confronted eachother for the semi final rounds. Zenji's smile almost instantly tuned into a look of disdain. "If you really can't remember that just gives me more of an advantage. The alarm to start went off, and Zenji was immediately upon Midori. He aimed a punch towards her face, but was fully prepared for if she attempted to dodge. He thought of a few possible measures to counteract her Quirk. “That’s not what I meant.” Midori shook her head as she casually evaded Zenji’s punch. “I know your quirk, just not your name.” She wasn’t going to be a let down just yet, she knew that her opponent didn’t have anything too far-fetched. In a way, their quirks focused on survival but preformed in different ways. Swiftly flicking her body away and leaping backwards a considerable distance, Midori needed to scope oit her opponent for the meantime. At least this one seemed to be a little bit easier than Horatia. Zenji leaned backwards, concentrating his power into his fist. He brought it down into the ground below, creating a shockwave of force that covered the entire area in front of him. If Midori wasn't able to avoid it, it likely had enough force to knock her out of bounds. "Amazing Impact!" his arm cracked from the force, and he winced, but the pain immediately subsided. Ducking and staying as close as to the ground as she can, Midori made sure that her body mass was collected into one spot so she wouldn’t be toppled over. Also, by keeping to the floor she wouldn’t be pushed too quickly by the force made by the shockwaves. She had made considerable distance between her and Zenji so covering her ears and closing her mouth and eyes saved her from too much damage. Though his quick regeneration may br a problem, it didn’t mean that Midori couldn’t survive. Minimal effort from her was a key tactic, and being in sync with her quirk allowed them to choose the best method of evasion from attacks whilst still retaining energy. Zenji wanted to test her evasion. It was up to Midori's own body to be able to dodge, so he wanted to see if he was fast enough catch her. Zenji charged at her, moving at high speeds, yet aware of any attempts she might make to counterattack, and prepared to avoid being thrown out of the ring. He wasn't as reckless as he appeared to be. He aimed a punch with each fist, but not at Midori directly, aiming to each side of her torso. If she tried to move at all in any direction, he clamped down on her and put her in a powerful bear hug. Keeping in a low position and bringing her senses back to the battle, it would be strange for Zenji to try aim for the sides of Midori's body whilst aiming to charge at her. Having shown her evasive abilities in her previous couples of battles, she knew that it would put some of the competitors on edge for how they are going to hit her. She was strategising at least, it would be her trained defence and strategy that would compensate for the lack of superhuman power her classmates have. As Zenji approached quickly, Midori looked for the best route she could take in order to solve her current situation. At the very last moment, Midori pounced out of the way allowing Zenji to move right past her, moving quite a bit from her original spot, in a sort of cat like leap that reduced the surface area for Zenji to hit. At the speed he was going at, it would have been very hard in order to process what had just happened. And with the very short amount of distance that Midori left between the two of them, he would have been too late with his strike. All he was going to do was tire himself out, both physically and mentally at this rate. Zenji collected himself, moving back closer to the center of the ring. "Ya know what Midori, why don't you make a move? I won't move from this spot until you do." A grin stretched across his face. He wasn't letting her take the advantage. "Yeah and then what?" She responded, bringing herself to a standing position, "Did you not see what happened last match? At least she'll be tougher to fight than you". Her taunts were only really to get into Zenji's head. "You continue making the moves, I'm here to respond to them. You're lucky that I at least keep track of everyone else's quirk, the names would just be a bonus." Keeping her hands out by her side, she was keeping her body steady and would make sure to move as soon as Zenji tried pulling something out of nowhere. Here, she had an opponent that was based on physical skill as his quirk provided some defence and support, a reflection of herself. "Hopefully, he's a bit dumber than I am." "Alright then," said Zenji, his smile faltering, being replaced with somewhat of a malevolent grin. "Let's see if I can throw something at you that you can't dodge!" He jabbed his hand into the hard concrete of the arena floor, his veins bulging out as he focused his strength into his arm. He moved it forwards, sending a hailstorm of debris towards Midori, covering the entire area in front of him. He could feel his bones break then reset as he had used the same strength he had in his Amazing Impact, yet the effect seemed even more potent. Making Zenji angry was a mistake. The adrenaline made him stronger. Even so, tiring him out was the key to this, as Midori dove down and slowly inched her way to Zenji's position. Most of the debris would fly over her due to her shorter stature, but some bits of rock that had cracked closer to her position were thrown into her upper body. However, Midori took the hits as she knew she took harder hits before, most of Zenji's attack had been evaded. Reducing the body surface for the rocks to hit and keeping close to the ground kept her in the field, and saved her from being covered in more cuts and bruises. All Zenji had really achieved was littering rocks outside and all around the area. "Wow, real creative. As if I haven't seen something like that done before! OH WAIT, I HAVE, TWO MATCHES AGO, EXCEPT AKIRA DID IT HARDER THAN THAT!" Midori yelled out once again, trying to push Zenji against her. "At least my last opponent got a proper hit in." She taunted once again. "You're not the kind of person who cares about making enemies aren't you?" asked Zenji. "And you're not the kind of person who responds to taunts either too." Zenji began moving his wrist in a circular motion, as if it was still irritated from his previous assault. "Surprise attacks are useless, and unless an attack covers literally every inch of the arena, you can still somehow avoid it. It's miraculous really. However, a great defense is nothing with a pitiful offense." The look on his face became one of determination and utter contempt. "You and I rather alike you know. My Quirk isn't actually combat oriented, so I had to work twice as hard to get here. I can only imagine how you managed to pass the entrance exam with nothing but infinite dodging. But all this thought and whatnot only leaves me with one question for you. Why do you want to be a Hero? You clearly don't care about anything, the only thing you care about seems to be your friendship with Aiko, which even I'm not sure you actually reciprocate that. So why, out of all the professions, did you choose the one job that requires you to actually give a shit about somebody else!" He was shaking, not from fear or cold, but from anger. His adrenaline was rising, and he was letting it. If Midori didn't have a good answer for him, he might snap. "Then you obviously don't know me. I'd hate to say it, but she's the only one that understands what I've been through. How about fuck you, for trying to think you're trying to solve something. Want to know why I want to be a hero? To fight, to be able to fight on the streets against villains without consequences. If anything, I would give more of a shit about the criminals I'm fighting than the people I'm saving." She responded. "But I don't. Must be lucky for you though, right? You probably still have folks to call your parents, siblings that you look up to, a place to call your home. Actually. No, there's one person that I could give a shit about, but I love him as much as I despise him. And being a hero would be the only way to actually finish my business with him. Are you happy now?" She said in her sharp, bland tone. Although it didn't sound like it, there were plenty of emotions behind her words, being held back by the intimdating, neutral face she put on. The Sports Festival was going to be her way of making herself known, to him, to show him what she was at this stage of her life, and what he would have to be ready for the next time they crossed paths. Zenji was taken aback for a second. She was right, he did have a loving a supportive family, even the "black sheep" he wasn't allowed to see anymore still sent him a birthday present every year. "Either you don't care about him that much or you hate me a lot." Zenji said, his grin returning. "Let's face it, you were the one trying to provoke me, weren't you? Sure you were trying a provoke a physical response to try to get me to tire out more, which is rather obvious given your previous bouts and your method of combat, but I suppose you can't take what you dish out." Zenji started stretching his arms. "I'd offer you the opportunity to get out some of frustrations by attempting to beat me senseless, I'd even say I won't attempt to counterattack for a full minute, but I'm pretty sure you'd think I'm either lying or just reject the offer out of misplaced spite. You probably think I'm a gigantic asshole, but still, truth be told, neither of us know each other that well. I'll be honest, I didn't actually think I'd trigger an emotional response from you." His anger was decreasing. It was almost as if Midori had taken all of it from him and took it into herself. "If you wanted to know why I'm here, I would have figured if you'd back off. You're the first one to ask me out of everyone in this class besides Aiko, I don't even think Jack knows. But you're right, I would think you're lying, but it's hard to think that everyone around you isn't. When you're betrayed by the person you trusted the most, wouldn't you think that everyone else would be just as worse?" She responded as she clenched her fists, she didn't want emotion to get the better of her still, and continued the bland face and tone. Zenji stretched his arms again, the joints didn't pop, but his never did. "We should hang out after this, I can tell you about my brother. In the meantime, I'm still waiting for you to make a move so that I can move from this spot." And it was true, despite his previous attack, Zenji hadn't moved from where he was standing outside the shifting of his feet. Neither did Midori, but there was no way she was going to, given the viewed nature of her fighting style. She still stood there waiting for Zenji to attack, she wasn't about to needlessly waste energy on moving around and striking out. She needed to be careful with her movements as this was the semi finals, and being third place would at least display improvement from her last year placing. "If your willing to buy me Angel Blood, we can hangout whenever." She shrugged. "I have no idea what that is, but I think I'd hate it," said Zenji. His muscles budged once again. He brought his fist up, then bought it back down. "Amazing Impact!" This punch was different, he wasn't trying to create a shockwave or make debris. His target wasn't even Midori. The arena floor where she was standing started to destabilize and fall apart. It crumbled under the immense force of his punch. If he couldn't hit Midori, he prevent her from having anywhere to dodge to. Midori was quick with her feet, as her experience with free running had her moving from various small platforms to another. As the cracks edged near her, Midori hopped gently up to allow the cracks to form under her. Her feet found there way back down to the ground and standing on the flatter surfaces underneath her. It was the minimal effort that got her through, so making tremendous, notable actions wasn't going to be seen too much from Midori. As she looked around to see the arena floor torn up into cracks and pointing up edges, Midori clicked her tongue within her mouth, her lips trembling as if to hold back a smile. "Nice try." ”Not done yet!” Zenji exclaimed, stomping in the same direction as Midori yet again, the arena floor this time being completely uprooted, with the intention to send Midori flying towards him. The portion of it would stay in the air for quite a while, and Zenji picked up two large slabs of concrete from the shattered ground. He threw the first one towards the airborne arena, not with enough force to break any pieces, but send it out of reach of so Midori couldn’t use it in any way. The second one was aimed towards her, wanting to test how Midori could dodge while in the air. Midori's quirk however had something else to say as Midori's body fell to the floor and increased her body mass into one spot. As the floor underneath her lifted up, she felt as though she was moving to a particular side rather than fully up. As she was lifted, Midori noticed that the ground had become an incline heading for Zenji. But the slab Zenji threw first made sure to knock it back down with the gravity, returning the battlefield back to normal. However, the second slab that Zenji threw was heading right for Midori. Relying on her quirk to move her body for her, Midori's quirk's capabilities would be shown as Midori's body curled into a ball in order to increase her mass size. Using gravity to bring her back down to the ground, Midori could feel the slab graze the back of her uniform as it passed just above her as she began her descent. Where she was lifted from wasn't too far off the ground, and falling from heights wasn't something that Midori hadn't become used to by now. In her own kind of hero landing, Midori gracefully landed on the ground on all fours, having turned to this position mid air, and reducing the amount of impact that could have rushed through her legs if she landed normally. In a way, she was just like a cat, and shown no problem with preforming the landing as she dusted her uniform off. "Close one." She noted as she scratched the back of her head, even further supporting a feline similarity. "Don't you know that cats always land on their feet." The one notable thing that Zenji had done was bring Midori closer to her position, but even so his opponent was already causally walking back to her original spot, her back seemingly foolishly to him. It was at this point that others should know that trying to strike Midori from where she could not see was just pointless. All that punching with the ground was going to tire him out, all Midori had to do was react appropriately without wasting as much as him. Zenji sighed. "This is more annoying than anything," he grumbled. Everything he seemed to try didn't work. If he was just a little bit faster, a little bit stronger, he wouldn't even need to be trying all of these elaborate strategies. Zenji sat down onto the ground, sitting cross-legged. "Ya know, Jack and Izanagi at least fought back." "Good for them, but now you've got me." Midori responded in a quick blank tone, "If you're annoyed then I can only offer you the option to forfeit". Midori's quirk was annoying, that she couldn't deny, but it worked. It was here in the semi finals that Midori could cement her image as one of the top competitors, wanting to both prove Aiko wrong, and hopefully show the man she spoke about before, what she's turned into. She looked at Zenji with a watchful eyes as he just sat there, refusing to imitate as she took a battle ready but calm position. She was still thrilled by the fight and she couldn't be more energised than before, but it was her endurance that was a key player in her fights. As far as she's concerned, she's made herself to last and possibly longer than her opponents. "If boxing has taught me anything after all those years watching it, its always to tire your opponent out and get inside their head." She mentally noted to herself. "Talk about the last fight though, how that Class 2-B guy and Solar Panel fought it out was something. Next match shouldn't be anything easier, no matter which one of us passes on." She spoke out loud. Zenji smirked. "Yeah, Eikyo and Tali are monsters. I wanna be at their level someday. Nah, that's not right. I want to be above it." Zenji got back to his feet. "Your Quirk is excellent for defense and evasion, but I'm sure you know you won't be able to tire out all of your opponents in a fight. I'm actually pretty skilled in taking down people physically stronger than myself though." "If you think I don't have any sorta attacks up my sleeve then your more close minded than I thought. Sure I'm made to last, but I also know how to bring a full grown man down to the ground with one hand." Midori tilted her head to the side. "But the quirk really is an added bonus, I can assure you, even if you had landed a hit on me you'll still find me standing on my feet with the same 'good old' enthusiasm I had before being hit." He full on laughed this time. "Enthusiasm? Your expression hasn't changed the entire time we've been fighting, although I'm certain you were making a joke." "Good job, you caught on." She said in an unimpressed manner, "You should probably help clean this mess up, wouldn't want to leave us Class 2-A students with a bad image of us not being tidy after we fight." Zenji looked around at the arena he'd shattered. "Nah. Remember, my Quirk isn't suited for fixing things either." He held out his hand as if he wanted to shake. "Wanna call it?" Midori shrugged but cautiously shook Zenji's hand, "Sure. He can probably see me now anyways."